Does not being able to play jazz = being a poor bass player?

[glocke1]

The rock and jam band stuff I can play pretty well, but the jazz thing is something else entirely.

Over the past 30 odd years I've dabbled in it on occasion, and each time I get frustrated and stop.

Some stuff I can probably get through ok, but ultimately its just not a genre I play well at all, which sucks as I've always held being able to play that material as sort of being the gold standard for a bass player.

 

[bholder]

Only if jazz is your intended style. If it's stuff you don't care to play, it doesn't matter whether you can or not. Different matter if you want to be able to play it - just get to work.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Jazz conducts a large framework of various music theories. Even if you don't aim at becoming a decent Jazz performer, studying the theory will make you a better musician for any genre; in my humble opinion.

 

[kopio]

If you play what you like well....who cares?

I live jazz, but only play it moderately well...but I listen to it very well...

 

[Goatrope]

Many great musicians and performers are full of self doubt.

Sounds like you're well on your way to greatness.

Of course, by your measure, you are coming up short, but the band that has you for their non-jazz project probably loves you.

I do agree that studying music will improve your musicianship in any genre, but you can still be considered to not suck without doing so.

 

[JRA]

Does not being able to play jazz = being a poor bass player?
no.

I've always held being able to play that material as sort of being the gold standard for a bass player.

it's a good standard if you intend to play jazz.

can you read music?
can you improvise?

 

[bholder]

Many great musicians and performers are full of self doubt.

Many lousy ones are, too. The ones that are scariest are the lousy ones with no self-doubt!

 

[glocke1]

Does not being able to play jazz = being a poor bass player?
no.


it's a good standard if you intend to play jazz.

can you read music?
can you improvise?

reading: It really depends on the tune, but overall I'd say I can't read at tempo, but I can sit down with a chart and work things out.

Improvise: depends on the setting. Improvise over a chart/set of chord changes? Overall no...I'll usually start out ok, but than it just falls apart. Improvise in a more modal sense with a group of other players ? sure...I can do that reasonably well.

It's all stuff Im working on and Im taking a ten week ensemble workshop and at the end I hope to at least come out as a better player than what I started as, but man this stuff sure is hard for me.

 

[two fingers]

Jazz conducts a large framework of various music theories. Even if you don't aim at becoming a decent Jazz performer, studying the theory will make you a better musician for any genre; in my humble opinion.

I think this is the deal.

Jazz musicians seem to have a firm grip on theory. Many (not all) popular music players kind of "wing it" on theory.

And knowing more theory will not only make jazz easier, but will help you with any genre you choose to play.

 

[glocke1]

I think this is the deal.

Jazz musicians seem to have a firm grip on theory. Many (not all) popular music players kind of "wing it" on theory.

And knowing more theory will not only make jazz easier, but will help you with any genre you choose to play.

I think thats all that I can expect to come out of trying to play jazz, is to become a better all around player. I don't have any delusions about becoming a strong jazz bassist, mainly because the oppurtunities to really play and get into that stuff just don't really exist where I live it. To put that into perspective, the ensemble workshop Im taking is a little over two hours away from me out on Long Island. There is nothing similar in my area that is offered. The upside of that though is the players are better, most of them in this ensemble are young kids who are either in or on their way to places like Juliard.

 

[bass12]

No. And if it makes you feel any better, there are plenty of jazz players who are not very good at playing any number of other styles. Having said that, studying jazz does force you to process information in ways that few (if any) other styles do and studying some jazz will certainly make you a more well-rounded musician.

 

[nonohmic]

I like jazz theory, i don't like jazz music.

And I don't care if that makes sense or not.

 

[lfmn16]

Back in the stone age, when I was in college, one of the hot-shot guitar instructors from Berklee came to visit. Grease was playing in town at the time and he asked if he could sit in. Of course they said yes. They found out that being a hot-shot jazz guitarist doesn't mean you can play rock and roll. He wasn't asked back.

You don't have to play every style of music proficiently in order to be a good bassist. Having said that, there is no question that studying jazz in college has helped in every single band I've ever been in. I learned to listen, play well with others, read, and improvise. I also learned that having good technique makes playing everything easier. You get to concentrate on the music, not the mechanics of making the music.

 

[groooooove]

this totally depends. we need to define what our parameters for "good" are.

for a professional musician, you should be able to survive in nearly any situation. If Jaco was alive today, could he make a hiphop record come to life? what about bluegrass? probably yes in both cases, right? what if we put ray brown on a heavy metal record? I bet he would find a way to make it work.

its just like anything else - are you a bad chef if you can't cook fish? well, a professional should probably know how to do that - but are you a bad home chef if you don't eat fish and cant cook it?

basically, when you are making music - how's it going? is your lack of ability in one field limiting your ability to reach your goals? I think if one is / is trying to be a professional, you should know all genres within reason. If your a hobbyist, or just playing around for fun, nobody but you gets to dictate what you should or should not be working on.

 

[vonbladet]

Jazz players will tell you that "if you can play jazz you can play anything". But this isn't especially true and for most anythings it wouldn't be an efficient or useful strategy even if it was.

 

[mrcbass]

I'm in the camp of most here: the more well rounded you are, the better musician you will be. If you want to play in a jazz setting then, yes you need to be able to play jazz.

If you want to play country, rock, reggae, hip hop - whatever - then playing jazz is less important, but I agree that having a solid theory basis will help in any genre and jazz does tend to force your head into theory to become proficient. It won't hurt you to pick up some jazz chops, but if that's not your scene, then don't worry about it.

 

[Pat Harris]

A lot of bassists claiming to play jazz can't play jazz, so not being able to play it isn't really a problem. Will it help you with ear training and a whole slew of other skills? Sure.

I'd go a bit further and add that, "If you can play jazz, you can play anything," is a terrible adage. There are great jazz musicians that ONLY play jazz, and that's totally cool. If they only listen to jazz, they are probably not the people to call to play for your 70s rock cover band-- totally different musical language. Flame away, but as much as Miles Davis wanted to play rock and funk, I think he missed the mark entirely. I love the results, but those albums are coming from a place that has nothing to do with early American blues.

The best musicians (of any genre) will be the first to tell you that they are probably NOT the person to call when what they bring to the table doesn't fit the gig.

 

[40Hz]

Knowing something about jazz and being able to play it, even if only on an apprentice level, does no harm and can make you a better and more well rounded musician.

Not liking jazz well enough (once you've learned something about it) to want to play it regularly, or even at all, is no crime. Jazz is a thing. And if it's not your thing, it's still all good.

 

[baileyboy]

I've always heard that jazz players were the best, and if you take lessons from a jazz player, everything else is comparatively easy. I did just that for 4 1/2 years, and never got comfortable or good at playing jazz; perhaps it's simply out of my league or I'm just not interested enough to care. Either way, I'm in a great classic rock band, and that is all that matters to me. I'm blissful in my mediocrity.

 

[Hypocrite]

No.
I'm a damned good metal bassist, but a terrible jazz bassist. That's fine for me, because I don't play jazz. Learning the theory can only help you, but just because you're not fluent in a certain style doesn't mean you're a bad bassist.